Exploratory dietary patterns, the global diet quality score, and their associated socio-demographic factors among young adults in Rwanda: a cross-sectional study using a food list-validated, semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire.

Background: Economic growth in Rwanda is associated with significant changes in food systems, access to health and other services, lifestyle, and nutritional transitions. Nevertheless, our knowledge of dietary patterns in Rwanda remains limited. The present study aimed to identify the dietary habits of young adult population in Rwanda and to assess associated factors.

Sex differences in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnosis and clinical care: a national study of population healthcare records in Wales.

Background: Population-based studies have observed sex biases in the diagnosis and treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Females are less likely to be diagnosed or prescribed ADHD medication. This study uses national healthcare records, to investigate sex differences in diagnosis and clinical care in young people with ADHD, particularly regarding recognition and treatment of other mental health conditions.

Cool and hot executive function problems in young children: linking self-regulation processes to emerging clinical symptoms.

Self-regulation (SR) difficulties are implicated in a wide range of disorders which develop in childhood, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiance disorder (ODD), anxiety and depression. However, the integration of the existing research evidence is challenging because of varying terminology and the wide range of tasks used, as well as the heterogeneity and comorbidity within and across diagnostic categories. The current study used the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework to guide the examination of different SR processes in young children showing a wide range of symptomatology.

Young Adult ADHD Symptoms in the General Population and Neurocognitive Impairment.

Objective: Neurocognitive impairments are associated with child and adult ADHD in clinical settings. However, it is unknown whether adult ADHD symptoms in the general population are associated with the same pattern of cognitive impairment. We examined this using a prospective, population-based cohort spanning birth to age 25 years.

Can a nation-wide e-cohort of ADHD and ASD in childhood be established using Welsh routinely available datasets?

Objectives: We investigated the feasibility and validity of establishing a nationwide e-cohort of individuals with a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and/or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) for future longitudinal research.

Design: Individuals with a childhood diagnosis of ADHD/ASD as recorded on routinely available healthcare datasets were compared with matched controls and a sample of directly assessed individuals with ADHD.

Setting: This study used data from the Welsh Secure Anonymised Information Linkage Databank in Wales, UK.

Dimensional associations between executive function processes and symptoms of ADHD, ASD, oppositional defiance and anxiety in young school-referred children.

Executive function (EF) difficulties are implicated in Neurodevelopmental Disorders (NDDs), such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Because NDDs are highly comorbid and frequently co-occur with additional clinical problems, it is unclear how specific EF problems are associated with symptoms of ASD and ADHD, whilst accounting for co-occurring anxiety or oppositional defiance disorder (ODD) symptoms. The current study utilised a large sample of young children (n = 438, aged 4-8) referred to Cardiff University's Neurodevelopment Assessment Unit (NDAU) by teachers for cognitive and/or socio-emotional problems.

Inattention symptom severity and cognitive processes in children at risk of ADHD: the moderating role of separation anxiety.

Impairments in cognitive processes and their associations with dimensional measures of inattention, hyperactivity-impulsivity and anxiety were examined in children at risk of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Children referred by teachers for exhibiting ADHD-type problems ( = 116; 43 meeting full diagnostic criteria for ADHD; 4-8 years) completed computerized tasks measuring episodic memory, response inhibition, visuomotor control and sustained attention, while parents were interviewed (DAWBA) to assess ADHD and anxiety symptoms. Of the 116 children assessed, 72% exhibited impaired cognitive processes; 47% had impaired visuomotor control, 37% impaired response inhibition, and 35% had impaired episodic memory.

Understanding Stigma in Autism: A Narrative Review and Theoretical Model.

The experience of stigma by autistic people is relatively understudied, despite contributing to a range of poor outcomes and having an overarching impact on well-being. The current review of the literature synthesizes research to determine what is currently known and presents a theoretical model of autism stigma. Autism stigma is primarily influenced by a public and professional understanding of autism in combination with interpretation of visible autistic traits.

Early manifestations of genetic liability for ADHD, autism and schizophrenia at ages 18 and 24 months.

Background: ADHD and autism are neurodevelopmental conditions, for which non-specific precursors or early signs include difficulties with language and motor skills, and differences in temperament in the first and second year of life. These early features have also been linked to later diagnosis of schizophrenia which is widely considered to have neurodevelopmental origins. Given that ADHD, autism and schizophrenia are all highly heritable, we tested the hypothesis that in the general population, measures of toddler language development, motor development and temperament are associated with genetic liability to ADHD, autism and/or schizophrenia.

Preschool development, temperament and genetic liability as early markers of childhood ADHD: A cohort study.

Background: ADHD is associated with multiple adverse outcomes and early identification is important. The present study sets out to identify early markers and developmental characteristics during the first 30 months of life that are associated with ADHD 6 years later.

Methods: 9201 participants from the prospective Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) birth cohort were included.

Relative age in the school year and risk of mental health problems in childhood, adolescence and young adulthood.

Purpose: Relative age within the school year ('relative age') is associated with increased rates of symptoms and diagnoses of mental health disorders, including ADHD. We aimed to investigate how relative age influences mental health and behaviour before, during and after school (age range: 4-25 years).

Method: We used a regression discontinuity design to examine the effect of relative age on risk of mental health problems using data from a large UK population-based cohort (Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC); N = 14,643).

Understanding de novo onset of anxiety during COVID-19: Pre-pandemic socio-emotional functioning in vulnerable children.

Background: There is a need to understand and mitigate the psychological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic for children known to be vulnerable. Data from prior to the pandemic are required to provide robust assessments of the socio-emotional impacts of COVID-19 and identify those who are more vulnerable.

Method: This study capitalises on an ongoing UK study of primary school children (4-8 years) identified prior to the pandemic as "at risk" for mental health problems by teachers.

Investigating Direct and Indirect Genetic Effects in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Using Parent-Offspring Trios.

Background: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is highly heritable, but little is known about the relative effects of transmitted (i.e., direct) and nontransmitted (i.

Genetics of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has long been recognized as being a highly heritable condition and our understanding of the genetic contributions to ADHD has grown over the past few decades. This chapter will discuss the studies that have examined its heritability and the efforts to identify specific genetic risk-variants at the molecular genetic level. We outline the various techniques that have been used to characterize genetic contributions to ADHD, describing what we have learnt so far, what there is still to learn and the methodologies that can be used to further our knowledge.

Cord serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels at birth associate with temperament outcomes at one year.

Altered serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) are consistently linked with neurological disorders. BDNF is also increasingly implicated in the pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly those found more frequently in males. At birth, male infants naturally have significantly lower serum BDNF levels (∼10-20% lower than females), which may render them more vulnerable to neurodevelopmental disorders.

Investigating the associations between irritability and hot and cool executive functioning in those with ADHD.

Background: Irritability is especially pertinent to those with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as it is highly prevalent and associated with a more severe clinical presentation and poorer longitudinal outcomes. Preliminary evidence suggests that top-down cognitive processes taking place in emotional contexts (i.e.

Collecting genetic samples and linked mental health data from adolescents in schools: protocol coproduction and a mixed-methods pilot of feasibility and acceptability.

Objectives: To coproduce a school-based protocol and examine acceptability and feasibility of collecting saliva samples for genetic studies from secondary/high school students for the purpose of mental health research.

Design: Protocol coproduction and mixed-methods feasibility pilot.

Setting: Secondary schools in Wales, UK.

Assessment of age-at-onset criterion for adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

To investigate the accuracy of the age-at-onset criterion in those who meet other DSM-5 criteria for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, using a prospective population cohort we compared four different approaches to asking those aged 25 years (n = 138) when their symptoms started. Receiver operating characteristic curves showed variation between the approaches (χ(3) = 8.99, P = 0.

"Late-onset" ADHD symptoms in young adulthood: Is this ADHD?

We investigated whether "late-onset" ADHD that emerges in adolescence/adulthood is similar in risk factor profile to: (1) child-onset ADHD, but emerges later because of scaffolding/compensation from childhood resources; and (2) depression, because it typically onsets in adolescence/adulthood and shows symptom and genetic overlaps with ADHD. We examined associations between late-onset ADHD and ADHD risk factors, cognitive tasks, childhood resources and depression risk factors in a population-based cohort followed-up to age 25 years (=4224-9764). Parent-rated late-onset ADHD was like child-onset persistent ADHD in associations with ADHD polygenic risk scores and cognitive task performance, although self-rated late-onset ADHD was not.

Sleep disturbances in ADHD: investigating the contribution of polygenic liability for ADHD and sleep-related phenotypes.

Sleep disturbances are common in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and associated with poor outcomes. We tested whether, in children with ADHD, (1) polygenic liability for sleep phenotypes is over- or under-transmitted from parents, (2) this liability is linked to comorbid sleep disturbances, and (3) ADHD genetic risk is associated with comorbid sleep disturbances. We derived polygenic scores (PGS) for insomnia, chronotype, sleep duration, and ADHD, in 758 children (5-18 years old) diagnosed with ADHD and their parents.

Early-Life Injuries and the Development of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

To estimate phenotypic and familial association between early-life injuries and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the genetic contribution to the association using polygenic risk score for ADHD (PRS-ADHD) and genetic correlation analyses. Children born in Denmark between 1995-2010 (n = 786,543) were followed from age 5 years until a median age of 14 years (interquartile range: 10-18 years). Using diagnoses, we estimated hazard ratios (HRs) and absolute risks of ADHD by number of hospital/emergency ward-treated injuries by age 5.

Neurological consultation with an autistic patient.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition with a very heterogeneous presentation. Autistic people are more likely to have unmet healthcare needs, making it essential that healthcare professionals are 'autism-aware'. In this article, we provide an overview of how autism presents and use case studies to illustrate how a neurological consultation in an outpatient clinic environment could prove challenging for a autistic person.

Childhood Antisocial Behavior: A Neurodevelopmental Problem.

Early-onset disruptive, aggressive, and antisocial behavior is persistent, can become increasingly serious as children grow older, and is difficult to change. In 2007, our group proposed a theoretical model highlighting the interplay between neurobiological deficits and cognitive and emotional functioning as mediators of the link between genetic influences and early social adversity, on the one hand, and antisocial behavioral problems in childhood, on the other. In this article, we review the post-2007 evidence relevant to this model.